The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-03-19
ToPoLoBAmPo.
A Letter from Mr.. winsIow Rowe of
Portland.
MIR. Hawkins Story of the Hardships
Of the Coionists.
The Safe Arrival OF the Party on the
SIoop.

Mr.. James NJ. Rowe yesterday received tho
following letter from his brother, Winslow
Rowe, one of the Sinaloa colonists. The
writer of the letter was one of the party who
were supposed to be lost on the sloop in
which they were getting away from Sinaloa.
Hermosello, where the letter is dated, is
town on the Serora railroad. The letter fol-
lows:
HERMosE1Lo, Mexico, March IL.
M Dear Brother:
As am sick and have been waiting to
hear from you and 1t is so hot that cannot
60 out in the sun, / thought would write
again and see If / could hear from You and
II You have sent me any letters. | shall
stop here until ! can hear from you. That
Portland told the truth, only it is worse than
they told it, Owen is rascal from beginning
to end. 1t is very sickly at Topolobampo.
/ have got away from there, but / almost
starved. We were blown out to sea for six
teen days and were reported lost. But we
are safe on land again. only weigh ZIG
pounds, so you see am nothing but bones.
! want you to send me some money to get to
the States Ii it is not farther than Chicago
it will he cooler there, and can get little
strength. got 0rman Mr.. Stubbsl and me
a Job, but am so weak l could not work
0rman i, working. | tried it, 1t was not
so hard, but came near being sunstruck
1t Is just all Orman can do to stand the sun.
If you have written to me, tell me where
you addressed the letter, for / must get
where 1t Is cooler. l cannot stand this
weather. WINsLOw ROWE.
In letter received Thursday from Mr..
Stubs, he stated that he and Mr.. Rowe had
work on the telegraph line on the
Sonora railroad, 100 miles from Guaymas
towards the United States and said: "Do not
write until you hear from me again. / have
written five or six letters and have got none
in return. / am glad / have got out of that
hell" Mr.. James Rowe has sent money to
his brother and Mr., Stubs, who will prob
ably be on their way home in a week or so.
The Los Angeles Cali Times contains an
account Of the experiences of the Hawkins
family, who formed a part of the colony.
Mr.. L. II. Hawkins, his wife Lizzie p,
their two sons, Bartie and Johnnie, aged 9
and Z respectively, and son of II years
who died of small pox at Topolobampo
formed the Hawkins family. Mr.. Haw-
kins resided at Shakspere, MINI, where he
had good legal practice. This he threw up
at Owens personal solicitation to become the
agent and attorney as well as director of
the Credit Foncier in New York. The 18th
of December he made visit home to settle
up his affairs, and then started for Sinaloa
with his family. He reached TopOlobampo
January 4th. He found the same condition
of things there that Mr.. Eaton described.
on a hill there was alframe building, about
l6x30 named Alburton Hall, to tickle the
vanity of Albert Owen. Every foot of lum-
Der in the COLONY, except enough to make the
common tables, had been put into that build
ing, 1t was reserved sacredly for Owens
own use, and was not allowed to be profaned
by any other use, When we got there there
were two cases of small pox in the hospital.
The hospital was hut Of Mexican mating
made from crushed cane, and was not high
enough for man to stand upright anywhere
IN It, Of course it was no protection from
the weather, and there was that frame build
ing unused upon the hill. Nearly all the
children had the measles. Arriving at Top.
olobampo we found DR.. Schellhous and DR..
Scally here there, and two cases Of small
pox in the hospital. They never went near
the hospital. | want due honor to be given
to Dr. I. W. eileen, who was there from
Hanford, California. He was druggist.
ana made no pretensi0ns to being doctor
but he is a noble man and true hero. He
and his wife took all care of the sick.
There were, when we got to Topolobampo
36S persons, OF whom at least one-half were
women and children. The first death from
y,
He died on Saturday night, and DR. Schell-
hous came and told me of the fact, and said
they were going to throw the corpse into the
bay He said Owen had instructed him If
he Owen or any one else died before Gre
matory was erected to tie two rocks to the
corpse and throw it into the bay. This was
done, and the boys body was deyoured by
sharks. In the face of the fact that there
had already been several deaths in Topolo-
bampo. Owen says in the Credit Foncier of
JAM, 18th, Suppose they all do get the
small pox; it is light type, and So cases all
at once will be just enough to make it in
teresting for those who can succeed in stand
ing up duringl the siege. My oldest boy,
aged II, was taken down with the small pox
soon after gu our arrival, and taken off to the
died January 24th. Tuiley L. Whit Winter of Of
Lockhart, Texas, died on the same day,
leaving there wife and nine children. a
Mr.. Stanley of Hartford, Cal, leader of the
Stanley band, died soon after, also with the
small pox. There were six or seven deaths
In all while we were there, but not all from
small pox. The scarlet fever, measles and
bowel complaint were also rife, and the
was everywhere.
The water was brought seven miles in bar
rels. The barrels were very filthy and the
water brackish. The first child that died in
twenty feet OF the springs. As to the food,
I was pretty hard. No one was allowed to
cook for himself under any condition. Here
Mr.. Turner narrated how he had tried to
get some beans to cook decently for mess
4 ten, and had been absolutely refused by
Mrs. Matson, the virago cook, who was
of all she surveyed We all had to
at at the common tables, under a tent, all
he food being cooked by the common cook.
The bill of fare was as follows: Sour bread.
lalfl cooked mush (of oat meal or corn meal.j
latiye squashes, coffee and tea which no ex-
'ert could tell apart, and always without |
mix or sugar, and native beef, ALWAYS boia- |
ID. We had fish twice while there. but II |
vas so disgusting that few could eat it. We |
!lSo had some UNBEATABLE ducks eggs twice. |
All the cooking was horrible. There is no |
game. within fourteen leagues. Whoever
lays there are any wild ducks there Is a liar.
Three deer were killed in the whole time
lut they were little larger than jack-rabbits'
There are quail and rabbits and also huge
!lligators at the Fuerte, forty miles away.
There is not an acre and half under cult
alton by the colony and that is in garden
ass"
The sloop arrived at Guaymas all right
farch 9th with the nine men and the bag
age, supposed to have been lost Those on
he slo0p were c. e. Chase, Howard Chase.
!. +. Cary, w. l.. Rowe, Aryin Lewis, j. w.
rubbs, - Stubs, John Mesersmith,
- Foster.
My opinion Of Owen? He is either crazy
I the biggest liar, fraud and villain of the |